Egg McMuffin sales explode with new secret ingredient

What do you do to sell more of a classic food item like the Egg McMuffin? Add butter of course!

McDonald's announced earlier this year that it would replace the margarine it normally uses to make the Egg McMuffin with butter. This was a seemingly innocuous change that would have a dramatic impact.

On Thursday, McDonald's Executives announced the breakfast classic had seen a double-digit sales increase, helping push the entire chain's U.S. Sales growth up 0.9 percent in the Third Quarter.

The good news for the company comes just eight months after Steve Easterbrook took the reigns as CEO. On a call with analysts Thursday, Easterbrook credited a return to fast food fundamentals with the improved sales.

Easterbrook told analysts on the call, "People have more choices than ever about where to dine. We want to give them more reasons to dine at McDonald's by recommitting to hot fresh food, fast friendly service and a contemporary restaurant experience."

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Egg McMuffin sales explode with new secret ingredient

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